By Nicole Godellas
In this series, meet members of the University of Illinois’ Research Development Community. Meg Dickinson is executive director of communications at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.
- What does your day-to-day look like?
My job is a fun mix of setting strategy and doing marketing and communications work. I supervise five full-time staff members who are generating news stories and videos, managing digital signs, designing and building websites and other communications materials, and setting and executing outreach strategy. Several of those staff members supervise student employees.
I also do a lot of writing, especially for websites, email communications, and marketing pieces. I serve on Beckman’s leadership team, and work hard to maintain relationships with colleagues in our faculty members’ home departments, OVCRI, Strategic Communications and Marketing, and more.
On a daily basis, you might find me:
- attending meetings with any of the people I mentioned above
- answering questions or assigning projects to the communications team
- blocking calendar time for writing or updating the Beckman website
- supporting special events
- ordering and distributing print materials
- getting out of my office to experience Beckman’s diverse, interdisciplinary community
- copy editing a variety of materials related to Beckman. Give me a red pen and I’m happy!
- What do you enjoy about your current position?
The Beckman Institute is magic. All our researchers are here because they want to be. They enjoy appreciative colleagues across disciplines, cutting-edge research tools, and exceptional staff members who support their unique needs.
I never know what kinds of things our office will be involved in. I get emails like, “We have bearded dragons in our 9.4 Tesla MRI. Want to come take pictures?” or “Can you give the Speaker of the Illinois House a tour?” or, “Can you help with communications for a project that will help people with disabilities better use speech recognition technology?” (The answer was an enthusiastic yes in all cases.)
My biggest accomplishment in four years has been retaining, attracting, and growing an amazing team. They make Beckman shine.
- What was your path to your current role on campus?
I started as a print journalist, which taught me about writing concisely, telling stories, building relationships, and working quickly and accurately. I spent seven years on various beats, and the last one was K-12 education. I sat through a lot of school board meetings and wrote about property taxes. I also discovered a passion for telling technology-related stories, like when campus researchers would visit schools with their drones.
My first stop on campus was in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where I loved writing about research and scientific advances. I also supported the department’s advancement office, which was invaluable experience. My next stop was in the College of LAS, where I managed social media, overhauled a website, and did a ton of student recruitment work.
I applied to work at Beckman because of a long family history (my dad helped dig the basement when I was a baby!) and because, as previously mentioned, it’s magic. It combined what I learned about tech research in ECE with navigating a huge, complex organization like LAS. I can’t imagine spending the last four years anywhere else.
- Are there particular experiences or mentors that shaped your career?
I’ll always be indebted to my first News-Gazette editor, the late Becky Mabry. She talked the paper into hiring me just as the Great Recession hit. Her high expectations shaped me as a young professional.
It took me a long time to get hired on campus, and not all my skills transferred directly. I’m grateful for campus communications leader Brad Petersen, who was my supervisor and teacher in both ECE and LAS. I came in as a writer and he taught me to be a strategic communicator and marketer.
Former Beckman director Jeff Moore hired me to my current role, and I am still astounded by him. He’s a superstar in his research field, but I’ve never met anyone so humble and eager to consider new perspectives. He gave me a master class in leadership.
Today, I value the mentorship of Melissa Edwards in OVCRI. She started as a communicator and is now doing so much more. I want my career to emulate Melissa’s!
Finally, I loved almost every minute of my time pursuing a master’s degree in library and information science at the iSchool. Journalism tends to become one’s identity, and I lost it when I changed careers. The iSchool reflected so many things I value – freedom of information, accuracy, and good usability.
- What are your interests and hobbies? Tell us a little bit about yourself outside of your position!
I have two young children and spend as much time possible with them. I enjoy the endorphin rush of exercise and feel most like myself when walking my dog, Sunny. I read fiction voraciously, love doing puzzles, and write a cooking column for The News-Gazette called Meg Makes. I especially love to volunteer with organizations related to professional development. I’m currently serving on the United Way’s Emerging Community Leaders at Illinois program and am a past board member for Executive Club of Champaign County.